Tag: Vladimir Presnyakov

Ivan Ivanov – a talented young performer from Bulgaria

Because of the nature of the Internet, it may often seem that fame is reserved predominately for performers coming from an English speaking country. Yet, the world is filled with talented young performers, and following international youth singing competitions is one of the ways to discover them.

In 2011, a young singer from Bulgaria represented his country at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Yerevan, Armenia. Although his song, Superhero, did not make it to the final round, his energetic performance made an excellent impression on the millions of viewers across the European countries who watched the contest and later on the Internet. His name is Ivan Ivanov. But who is he?

Though twelve-years-old now, Ivan was only eleven when he competed in the Eurovision contest. He started singing six years ago with the vocal group “Patilanci” at the School of Arts at the Community Center “Progress 1869” in his birth city of Gorna in Oryahovitsa. A year later, he started a solo career and in the years to follow competed in numerous singing competitions across Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Germany. During The International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar that took place in Vitebsk in Belarus, Ivan covered the song Zurbagan by Russian popular singer Vladimir Presnyakov from the Soviet teen movie Vyshe Radugi (Above the Rainbow), performing the entire song in flawless Russian.

Ivan Ivanov – Zurbagan

Ivan perform at The International Festival of Arts

The song Superhero that Ivan competed with at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, has an up-beating modern vibe. But Ivan’s real passion is rock music. His favorite performers are Adam Lambert, Bon Jovi, Vasil Naidenov and the groups: Scorpions and Queen. In 2011, at an international pop-rock fest at Dobritch in Bulgaria, Ivan covered Adam Lambert’s hit song Sleepwalker. He delivered the song in such a professional manner with a stage presence that emulated Adam Lambert’s gestures and moves in such detail, that the American singer discovered the performance (thanks to the army of fans that sent him the link), he sent a message to Ivan on Twitter that read:

“Yeah Ivan!!! You rock buddy!

The video quickly became popular among Adam Lambert fans, many of whom stated that they could have never imagined that someone as young as eleven could deliver such a poignant performance.

Ivan Ivanov covers Adam Lambert’s song Sleepwalker

Ivan at International pop-rock fest at Dobritch, Bulgaria

Unfortunately, the Bulgarian inter-web lacks a centralized resource devoted to the young talents of Bulgaria and, as a result, obtaining information on them is not an easy task. The country hosts numerous talent competitions, but the lack of promotion and interest from the main stream media limits the exposure that the young participants in such competitions receive to the people in the local municipalities. That is why we would like to encourage you to share Ivan’s music as a help to him on his way to stardom.

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Guest article by George ( aka SkyKid ). An author at www.theskykid.com. A site that features articles, previews and reviews of coming of age movies, books, short films and music with a focus on adolescent development.